WORCESTER — With public library branches now up and running in three public elementary schools in the city, the last one slated for launch has become a much larger project than anticipated, with a budget almost double that of the others.

The new library branch at Burncoat Street Preparatory School is to open in the fall, after a renovation of a modular classroom currently attached to the main building. It was previously scheduled to open this spring. The changes will come at a price of about $650,000, said Patty Eppinger of the One City, One Library initiative.

"People have been stepping up to fund it," she said, but backers are still looking for private supporters to fill in the remaining $100,000 or more it will take to finish the project.

Because the nearly 200-student Burncoat school is under such tight space restrictions, the library was being considered in the modular area. However, organizers said in the fall the structure was not strong enough to hold that many books.

According to a January report to the City Council, the space will also be home to two kindergarten classrooms and a conference room. It will have an improved heating system and bathrooms, Ms. Eppinger said Wednesday.

Several elementary schools in the city are without libraries, and the vast majority do not have a librarian.

"Libby isn't enough," Ms. Eppinger said, referring to the name of one of the two mobile libraries, or "bookmobiles," that make stops throughout the city to supplement the main branches. The other vehicle, named Lily, cost $115,000 and was funded by the United Way of Central Massachusetts as well as the city of Worcester and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. It hit the road earlier this year.

Combined, the two vehicles have the capacity to visit each of the 32 Worcester public elementary schools approximately once a month.

In October and November, branches of the Worcester Public Library opened in the Roosevelt and Tatnuck Magnet schools. The third, at the Goddard School of Science and Technology, had a ribbon-cutting on Wednesday.

So far, the two working branches have loaned out over 21,000 books and other items and hosted nearly 500 class visits for about 7,500 pupils. During the school day, the libraries are for the school community only, and open up to the public at the end of the day.

To make that possible, the work for each school has included installing a separate security system for the library space, and installing new signs and lighting for separate entrances and the parking areas, Ms. Eppinger said.

For the Goddard School, one of the big hurdles was installing a buzzer system so that visitors could be admitted to the library after hours.

Principal Kendall Grigg said during the event Wednesday that this is a huge step for the school, with each and every pupil now with the ability to bring a book home to read every night.

She said that before the branch opened, the space was a library filled with outdated books and no formal procedure for allowing students to take them home. It had not been staffed for a decade, she said. She is thrilled with the non-fiction selection and said that being able to provide the service to the community will make a big difference.

Prince Agyapong, an enthusiastic young reader in the second grade, said he was looking for the Roald Dahl book "Matilda" after watching the film. His older sister, Deborah Agyemang, a sixth-grader, said she is excited that her family will no longer need to travel all the way to the main public library branch for a good book.

"I'm glad it's actually near my house," she said.

Worcester Public School superintendent Melinda Boone said that while the other sites will do "double duty," providing library services to the students and the general community, the Goddard site will also be a resource for the University Park Campus School across the street.

Although the library's 9,000 books consist of mostly children and adolescent titles, "anyone can come in and order what they need," Ms. Eppinger said.

Each library has two paid librarians at all times, as well as volunteers, said Ms. Eppinger.

The four libraries are being funded through $700,000 from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, with additional funding from the Hanover Insurance Group Foundation and the George H. and Sybil F. Fuller Foundation. A handful of other organizations, including Cardinal Construction, agreed to do their part by providing services free or at an extremely discounted rate.

Each of the new libraries will be staffed by Worcester Public Library librarians, paid through payments-in-lieu-of taxes from Clark University, MCPHS University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Each library is equipped with a set of 25 iPads, connection to the C/W MARS library network, and 5,000 new materials, including books, electronic books and DVDs.

Contact Alli Knothe at allison.knothe@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @KnotheA

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